What are some of the secure web gateway secrets you need to know? And how can knowing these secrets help your company?
Secure Web Gateway Secrets You Need to Know
One of the most important secure web gateway (SWG) secrets you need to know is that the SWG is a business continuity tool that helps you meet compliance regulations. Securing your web gateway is a must because it’s the first line of defense against web attacks.
Moreover, it’s important to keep it up to date with the latest security patches and anti-malware protection. And don’t forget about your firewall. How does the SWG help you meet compliance regulations? Let’s look at HIPAA and PCI as examples.
HIPAA requires you to protect patient data, and PCI requires you to protect credit card data, but how do secure web gateways help? They can encrypt data in motion and secure communications between systems.
You also need to know that there are two types of SWG: a reverse proxy and a firewall with an integrated web gateway (FWIWG). Reverse proxies deploy in the public cloud or on-premises for high availability. Whereas FWIWGs are deployed within the internal network.
Then, when you decide which type of SWG you need, it’s important to know how to prepare for installation and how to choose the right vendor. When you’re deciding on a vendor, there are some key questions to ask.
So, these questions will help you evaluate vendors and can save you from future headaches. What, then, are the best practices in using SWG?
Secure Web Gateway Best Practices You Need to Know
Firstly, you need to have a clear and consistent policy for accessing and utilizing your SWG. Then, you need to have a process that helps you assess threats and vulnerabilities.
You also need to have a plan for responding to incidents, but you shouldn’t ignore some of the more technical best practices. These include deploying a reverse proxy in your DMZ for high availability. Also, you should deploy an FWIWG in the internal network. And you should update your SWG with the latest security patches.
Another important best practice is that you need to have a clear and consistent policy for access control. This policy should cover all devices, users, and applications.
As mentioned above, you also need to have a process that helps you assess threats and vulnerabilities, but it should be tailored to your needs. It’s important to regularly test your SWG so that you can identify problems while they’re still manageable.
Doing so could help prevent denial of service attacks or data breaches. This testing should be done by an independent third party who can provide objective feedback.
Then, another best practice is that when installing a new version of software on the system, it’s important to do a trial run before deploying it live. This is because new software versions may have bugs or compatibility issues with older versions that must be resolved before deploying it live.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is important to know the secrets surrounding secure web gateway and how they can help your company. However, the above is only a small portion of what you need to know to maintain a high level of security within your business.